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zblomstrom

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 2, 2017
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I'm severely missing my previous two MacBook's (2016 and 2017) and have been thinking about buying one again. Do they still hold up to basic everyday tasks in 2020?

I'm assuming the 2017 will be the better option, rather than a 2016, but I've been looking at the best deals for both model years. This laptop always seems to be the one I come back to as I loved my experience with it, even after switching to a 15" Pro for a while and now back to a Windows desktop for gaming. Not looking to game on the MacBook, although it could handle it in low detail last time I tried.

Will the base model processors on either the 2016 or 2017 model hold up for a while yet or should I be looking for the mid or high tier processors? Looking for some feedback from users to currently use these models often.
 
I use one every day, and am currently waiting on an M1 Air as it's very much on its last 'legs'. I would much prefer to have a 12" option again, but I need more performance than this machine can offer. I am quite a heavy user - not that I use heavy-duty software, but rather that I use a *lot* of applications and tabs at once, but even at far less than my desired workflow, this system chokes. I get a lot of spinning beachballs, slowdowns, hanging, lagging, and weird glitchy screen-effects. This may, however be due in great measure to the 8GB RAM and very full SSD. So whether one would handle what you want it for is really down to your needs. But the thing I am convinced of, and the thing that would stop me buying one today even if Apple upped the internals to M1, is the butterfly keyboard. It's nothing but trouble. Keys stop working, get stuck, lag, double-type, type in the wrong order... the typing feel is not an issue for me, but the rest of it really is!
 
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Thank you for this feedback it is very helpful. The other thread talking about Big Sur on the 2015 MacBook doesn’t sound promising. Might be a better idea to go to a newer MacBook Air unfortunately.
 
I doubt either of us will regret the move tbh. The 12” format will always be my favourite but the performance will almost certainly blow us away :)
 
My 2017 m3 16 GB works really well. For basic use, 16 GB is unnecessary though.

My main beef with it is the single USB-C port, not the CPU.

However, I personally wouldn't consider anything below the 2017, since the 2017 has full hardware HEVC decode and encode support, and it also has the improved keyboard. It should also be noted that the 2017 m3 is faster than the 2016 m5.
 
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I ended up buying a 2015 MacBook with the mid tier 1.2GHz processor and 512GB SSD. Was too good of a deal to pass up even though I was initially looking at 2016/2017 models. I'm a little worried how my experience with the older model is going to be but I'm willing to take a chance and try it out.

With my Windows PC available to do the heavy lifting and gaming I'm only looking to do simple tasks like light Excel work, web browsing, emails, YouTube, etc.
 
the 2016-201? had a very bad keyboard, the butterfly keyboard issue. Even if they had the warrenty replacement keyboard it still has a butterfly kb.
also
the usbC connectors are very loose fitting
display issues "stage lighting" effect

i own one.
 
Aside from the keyboards being unreliable, I love the butterfly keyboard and how it feels. Definitely not an issue for me. I'm able to type faster and be more productive on the butterfly keyboards than any other, although, I haven't tried the keyboard on the newest laptops.

I haven't had any USB-C or display issues on the MacBook's I've previously owned but I'll have to investigate that when I receive the one I purchased.
 
Please let met know what your experience is, I have the same one (1.2 ghz 2015, 512GB SSD, Big Sur) laying around which somehow drains a lot of battery in sleep, and even when using it it only gives me around 3 hours of battery life max. It is not really fast, but with basic tasks it works fine. Please be careful with the cpu though, because they are known to die very easy.
 
Please let met know what your experience is, I have the same one (1.2 ghz 2015, 512GB SSD, Big Sur) laying around which somehow drains a lot of battery in sleep, and even when using it it only gives me around 3 hours of battery life max. It is not really fast, but with basic tasks it works fine. Please be careful with the cpu though, because they are known to die very easy.
I will post an update after using the laptop for a while. I should be receiving it tonight after I get home from work.

Are you using Big Sur and experiencing the accelerated battery drain? How many battery cycles does your laptop have? I took a chance on this laptop as there were several other people interested in it, so I purchased it without getting an answer on how many battery cycles it had. Hoping for under 100 cycles as the seller stated it had been hardly used.

I wasn't aware of any issues with the CPU in this model. Are the 1.2GHz processors the ones with the issue or the 2015 M processors in general?
 
I will post an update after using the laptop for a while. I should be receiving it tonight after I get home from work.

Are you using Big Sur and experiencing the accelerated battery drain? How many battery cycles does your laptop have? I took a chance on this laptop as there were several other people interested in it, so I purchased it without getting an answer on how many battery cycles it had. Hoping for under 100 cycles as the seller stated it had been hardly used.

I wasn't aware of any issues with the CPU in this model. Are the 1.2GHz processors the ones with the issue or the 2015 M processors in general?
Yes, my battery has like 20 cycles. The person who used it before me almost always worked on it while being plugged in. This is not the optimal situation for the battery, so maybe that caused damage to the battery as well.

Both on Catalina and Big Sur I experienced battery drain in sleep, so maybe it is just me, otherwise it would have been fixed by a software update I guess. I have also done basic things like a NVRAM reset and SMC reset, but both didn't help.

The CPU issues with this model has to do with the heat which these cpu's can't handle. These issues can happen on all 12" MacBooks (2015, 2016 and 2017). Yours is probably just fine, but I just wanted to mention it, since I have seen (I sometimes do logic board repairs) and heard enough about it.
 
Mine was 2015, always plugged in, using Ethernet, monitor, kb/mouse and ext. storage. In the end Big Sur was reporting the battery needed servicing, would drain rapidly. Figured I would get a Mini finally, I have a Windows laptop I use from easy chair.

For mild use it was fine, but for working with photo library and more, it struggled. With 8GB it was paging up to 4GB - with 16GB Mini doing same it uses 12-14GB and no vm swap. Plus the Mini or an M1 have much better spec'd SSDs and a 6-core i5 (no h/t) is welcome relief, no more struggling with low end Intel dual-core cpu stuff.
 
Yes, my battery has like 20 cycles. The person who used it before me almost always worked on it while being plugged in. This is not the optimal situation for the battery, so maybe that caused damage to the battery as well.

Both on Catalina and Big Sur I experienced battery drain in sleep, so maybe it is just me, otherwise it would have been fixed by a software update I guess. I have also done basic things like a NVRAM reset and SMC reset, but both didn't help.

The CPU issues with this model has to do with the heat which these cpu's can't handle. These issues can happen on all 12" MacBooks (2015, 2016 and 2017). Yours is probably just fine, but I just wanted to mention it, since I have seen (I sometimes do logic board repairs) and heard enough about it.
I have one of these as well (2015, 1.2 Ghz, 512GB SSD) that I got for a steal. Mine only has 112 cycles on it but had the service battery error in Big Sur. Fixed that with NVRAM reset. Battery life is not great tho.

Do you think using something like Turbo Boost Switcher to keep the Ghz at 1.2 will prolong its life and help with the battery?
 
Yes, my battery has like 20 cycles. The person who used it before me almost always worked on it while being plugged in. This is not the optimal situation for the battery, so maybe that caused damage to the battery as well.

Both on Catalina and Big Sur I experienced battery drain in sleep, so maybe it is just me, otherwise it would have been fixed by a software update I guess. I have also done basic things like a NVRAM reset and SMC reset, but both didn't help.

The CPU issues with this model has to do with the heat which these cpu's can't handle. These issues can happen on all 12" MacBooks (2015, 2016 and 2017). Yours is probably just fine, but I just wanted to mention it, since I have seen (I sometimes do logic board repairs) and heard enough about it.
I'm guessing that the previous owner having the laptop plugged in all the time may have affected battery life.

I always shut down my laptop when I'm done with it so I can't comment on the battery drain while sleeping.

Thank you for the information on the processors in the MacBook I wasn't aware of this happening to people. I could definitely see how it could be an issue with how hot these laptops can get without a fan.
 
Mine was 2015, always plugged in, using Ethernet, monitor, kb/mouse and ext. storage. In the end Big Sur was reporting the battery needed servicing, would drain rapidly. Figured I would get a Mini finally, I have a Windows laptop I use from easy chair.

For mild use it was fine, but for working with photo library and more, it struggled. With 8GB it was paging up to 4GB - with 16GB Mini doing same it uses 12-14GB and no vm swap. Plus the Mini or an M1 have much better spec'd SSDs and a 6-core i5 (no h/t) is welcome relief, no more struggling with low end Intel dual-core cpu stuff.
Since getting my new to me 2015 on Tuesday I've definitely noticed that it's slower than the newer (obviously) MacBooks that I've had but it will completely fine for the basics like emails, internet browsing, and YouTube when I don't feel like sitting at my desk. There is still part of me that wishes I would have splurged on either a MacBook Pro or Air with the M1 but for the price I got it I can't complain at all. My Windows desktop meets all of my heavy lifting and gaming needs. Thank you for your insight.
 
I have one of these as well (2015, 1.2 Ghz, 512GB SSD) that I got for a steal. Mine only has 112 cycles on it but had the service battery error in Big Sur. Fixed that with NVRAM reset. Battery life is not great tho.

Do you think using something like Turbo Boost Switcher to keep the Ghz at 1.2 will prolong its life and help with the battery?
I have the same spec you do and also got mine for a great price (at least I think so). I took a chance on buying it without getting the seller to answer how many battery cycles the laptop had as there were several other people showing interest on Swappa. The cycle count was the first thing I looked at when I booted it up and to my surprise it only has 46!

Interesting that the service battery error went away after a NVRAM reset.

I hadn't heard of Turbo Boost Switcher but it looks promising. I'm not sure keeping the GHz at 1.2 will do battery life or the thermals any favors but it may be worth a try to see what the software can do. Battery life has been one of the more disappointing parts of this purchase. Maybe my laptop is still indexing as I've only used it a couple of hours since setting it up but it just seems to drain very quickly.
 
I'm severely missing my previous two MacBook's (2016 and 2017) and have been thinking about buying one again. Do they still hold up to basic everyday tasks in 2020?

I'm assuming the 2017 will be the better option, rather than a 2016, but I've been looking at the best deals for both model years. This laptop always seems to be the one I come back to as I loved my experience with it, even after switching to a 15" Pro for a while and now back to a Windows desktop for gaming. Not looking to game on the MacBook, although it could handle it in low detail last time I tried.

Will the base model processors on either the 2016 or 2017 model hold up for a while yet or should I be looking for the mid or high tier processors? Looking for some feedback from users to currently use these models often.
Hi, I think that these machines hold up very well in 2020/2021.
I have sold mine last month because I wanted to test the MacBook Air M1.
But in my heart this is the Apple laptop I liked most.

I reviewed working with it on my blog, I also used it connected to a 4K monitor and it is still a capable machine.

You can find my review here:


Greetings from Germany, Janni
 
I think my 2017 i5/8 is marvelous. Fast enough for light use on Catalina, and unbeatable form factor. I need Windows, so the new MBA is still a no go for me - even if it did run windows, I still have zero reason switch from this machine.

I'm still trying to figure out whether a "dirty" upgrade from Catalina ---> BigSur is something I should do.
 
Hi, I think that these machines hold up very well in 2020/2021.
I have sold mine last month because I wanted to test the MacBook Air M1.
But in my heart this is the Apple laptop I liked most.

I reviewed working with it on my blog, I also used it connected to a 4K monitor and it is still a capable machine.

You can find my review here:


Greetings from Germany, Janni
Hello! I think the MacBook holds up very well today but I can feel the 2015 models age. Thank you for sharing your well thought out and detailed review. It's always interesting to hear about everyone's thoughts on the wonderful MacBook and everyone who has one usually always says great things about it.

The biggest downside to my 2015 model is the battery life. Definitely remember battery life being much better on my 2016/2017 MacBook and various 15" MacBook Pro's I've had over the years.
 
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I think my 2017 i5/8 is marvelous. Fast enough for light use on Catalina, and unbeatable form factor. I need Windows, so the new MBA is still a no go for me - even if it did run windows, I still have zero reason switch from this machine.

I'm still trying to figure out whether a "dirty" upgrade from Catalina ---> BigSur is something I should do.
I'm kind of wishing I would have spend the extra $200-$300 to get a 2017 model but the 2015 will work for the next year that I intend to keep it.

I've read that there is a way to get Windows to work on the new M1 Macs but agree that it's probably best to wait for more stability in that area before upgrading if you rely on it. Nothing is more frustrating than fixing problems when you are trying to get work done!

I had hoped that the MacBook I purchased was going to come with Catalina so I could test the performance of both. Apparently there is a way to downgrade back down to Catalina from Big Sur if you want to put the effort into it. Might be worth a try to see if performance and battery life are better with Catalina on my 2015.
 
@OP (and others): What do you think would be a fair price for a 2017 Macbook? Or do you think it would be worthwhile to wait to see what hardware gets released at this point? Really would appreciate the insight.
 
@OP (and others): What do you think would be a fair price for a 2017 Macbook? Or do you think it would be worthwhile to wait to see what hardware gets released at this point? Really would appreciate the insight.
I can't say anything about prices, but I would seriously wait at this point or choose the M1 air despite the size difference. Unless you can *really* get it cheap, and I mean *cheap*, I'd really question it as a choice, despite it being my favourite form-factor Apple have ever released. 12 inch has always been my favourite size laptop.
 
Hey all, still rocking my original 2015 1.2Ghz 512GB SSD. It's holding up extremely well for me as a personal laptop. I'm debating whether to update to Big Sur (currently on Catalina 10.15.7) and also whether to possibly go dual boot with Linux to add 32 bit support back (I have a few old 32 bit games like Morrowind that I miss playing on the Macbook). It still does everything surprisingly well. I've recently started using the chromium based Edge browser due to some sites not liking Safari and I'm liking the performance.

I'm definitely considering whether this is the year to get a new laptop, but other than uninspiring battery life, this little MacBook is still a great computer.
 
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